Valve recently announcedThe new Steam MachineThis has stirred up the gaming market once again, but the official answer regarding the "price" of this living room gaming console has finally been clearer.
In an interview with the "Friends Per Second" podcast on Skill Up, Valve team member Pierre-Loup Griffais revealed that the new Steam Machine will not adopt a subsidy strategy, and its pricing logic will be closer to the current PC market situation.
We won't sell unprofitable products; our target price is within the same DIY PC price range.
Home game consoles (such as PlayStation or Xbox) typically price their products below cost or with very low profit margins, recouping profits through subsequent software sales. However, Pierre-Loup Griffais has made it clear that the Steam Machine will not follow this path.
He pointed out, "If you assemble a PC from parts and achieve essentially the same level of performance, that's roughly the price range we're targeting."
Nevertheless, Pierre-Loup Griffais emphasized that Valve's goal remains to make it a "good deal" in its performance tier. He explained that the Steam Machine has many features that are "actually very difficult to build" for a DIY PC (referring to its compact design, hardware and software integration, and SteamOS experience).
Parts prices fluctuate greatly; specific figures are not available at this time.
Regarding the specific price figure, Pierre-Loup Griffais stated that no specific decision has been made yet, as there are still many variables in the supply chain that are fluctuating, making it difficult to give a precise price at this time.
Focusing on the mid-range balance point, a Pro version may be available in the future.
In the interview, Pierre-Loup Griffais also revealed an interesting piece of information: Valve is indeed interested in launching a higher-end "Steam Machine Pro".
However, the current development focus remains on this "mid-range" product. Valve believes that the current specifications represent the best trade-off between affordability and performance. This also suggests that the new Steam Machine may not initially pursue top-of-the-line hardware, but rather prioritize cost-effectiveness and mass market acceptance.
